1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gaming, particularly video gaming, and more particularly to video gaming in which the matching of symbols on rows and/or columns is used to determine winning combinations.
2. Background of the Art
Video gaming is a form of entertainment involving the display of the format of a game on a video screen (presently on a cathode ray tube or monitor, liquid crystal display screen or any other visually observable image presenting system) and the participation of a player(s) electronically engaged with the data flow to the screen. The player(s) may place wagers on the outcome of various statistically driven games which are displayed on the screen. Originally, the mechanical forerunners of video games were primarily limited to games having symbols displayed on reels, each symbol occupying a frame on the wheel, and the wheels being spun and then stopped to display a line of symbols (usually three symbols in a single row). Poker games with five cards in a single row were among the first mechanical slot type games. Payouts were provided for certain specific symbol combinations on the payout line. Certain symbols became traditional on mechanical gaming machines (e.g., slot machines) such as the number xe2x80x9c7,xe2x80x9d cherries, bells, oranges, lemons, plums, etc. Over time, less traditional symbols were added to give the game a different visual appearance, but the play of the reel oriented slot machine game remained essentially the same.
When video gaming was first introduced to the gaming world, the first video games were electronic imitations of the traditional slot machines, even using the same symbols, and the same physical formats (e.g., a handle to initiate play), assuring that the transition from mechanical to electronic formats would meet the least resistance. As electronic gaming became more accepted, both the formats (e.g., buttons versus handles) and the game content (e.g., novel formats of poker games such as draw poker games, dominoes, keno, blackjack, Bingo, Pai Gow poker, etc.) were changed and expanded. The format of play within the electronic or virtual reel games has also progressed from the early duplications of the mechanical reels on a visual screen. The flexibility afforded the games by the use of computers, printed circuit boards, virtual images, and the high information density and volumes that can be used with electronic media, has enabled essentially unlimited formatting and image capability in the equipment. However, even with this potential, very little has been done with virtual reel games. The most notable product introductions in the virtual reel industry have included multiple payout lines on the displayed reels (e.g., payouts allowed on three rows when three tokens are played), multiple payout formats (e.g.,. payouts in rows, columns, diagonals, and/or patterns), and the imagery of the frames (e.g., different symbols, different themes for the symbols, and even animated movement within the frames of the symbols).
The various changes that have been and may be made in the virtual reel video systems may be characterized within three types of change classes: 1) changes that affect the probability of the awards; 2) changes that affect the fundamental nature of the game; and 3) changes that provide an entertainment or aesthetic variation to the game. Examples of changes that would affect the probability of awards would include, for example, selecting the total number of symbols within any reel or reels, selecting the number of any specific symbol within a reel or reels, selecting the number of lines or patterns for which there will be payouts, providing algorithms that directly modify probabilities and outcomes in the play of the game, and the like. Examples of changes that would affect the fundamental nature of the game include, for example, the ability to retain a symbol on one or more reels from a first play and then re-spin remaining reels(s), the ability of a machine or player to xe2x80x98nudgexe2x80x99 a frame within one reel to a more favorable position, and the like. Examples of changes that would provide an entertainment or aesthetic variation to the game would include, for example, variations in artwork in the frames, variations in themes in the frames or in the background of the frames, and the like. Some of the more striking artwork renditions now include, for example, faces on the symbols which alter their orientation (e.g., turn within the frame and look at another character), alter their expressions (e.g., smile or frown or laugh), or otherwise provide a different image within the frame.
In all cases, however, the imagery generally is still provided by reels (virtual or actual) that give the appearance of rotating in place, with the reels providing entire columns, entire rows, or individual frames. It is always desirable within an entertainment field, such as video gaming, to be able to provide variations in the play and appearance of games to attract and maintain players.
A supply of symbols is provided for the play of video gaming formats by an image that comprises a continuous strip or continuous element of images in a virtual continuous loop or extended strip. For example, a continuous loop may contain 1000 symbols, the loop progresses through a first column in a video slot image (exposing the desired number of frames within the strip of the loop, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 frames exposed for active play), the forward part of the strip of the loop is then returned to another column to expose the desired number of frames, and then the forward part of the loop is again returned to the video screen in still another column to expose another desired number of play active frames. This manner of providing the frames in a continuous (or at least extended) strip or loop provides both additional imagery and an opportunity for varying the probabilities of the game easily.
A particularly preferred visual pattern for the continuous or extended loop comprises frames which are provided within a continuous loop that appears as a segment of a film strip or motion picture film, with sprocket holes, and/or black frame separations and/or borders appearing in the imagery. Other desirable images could be a snake with frames on its back, sides and/or belly, a helix with frames on various surfaces of the elements forming the helix, a train having cars with different symbols, and many other variations.